From the Cradle to the Grave
by tears-of-a-different-shade
Summary: A warrior's promise. A hunter's nightmare. A man's revenge. A deadly mistake. When Sam has a vision of his own death, can he keep it from Dean and stop it from coming true? Sequel to Below the Surface. Can be read as a stand alone. Full summary inside.
1. Restless Nights

**This is the sequel to my first fan fiction, "Below the Surface" and characters and events from it will be brought up. However, the plot of this story is mostly separate from it and should make sense on its own.**

**Disclaimer: **No...no, I do not own them...

**Warning: **In this story, I'd say just language and violence.

**Summary: **The brothers follow Sam's vision to a small town, believing they are hot on the trail of the demon they've been chasing all their lives. But what they find is not what they expect. What's really behind the mysterious fires? Can they stop it before any more women die? And when Sam has a vision of his own death, can he keep it from Dean and stop it from coming true? Be careful, boys! Things are never what they seem!

**A/N: **That's right! The sequel's here! What can you expect from me this time around? Well, just to list a few things, a healthy serving of limp Sammy, some over-protective Dean, vision mayhem, lots of fire, our favourite demon, and heapings of angst.

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter One: Restless Nights**

_Sam Winchester sat on the floor, vaguely aware of the heat and the flames licking his skin. On a much deeper level, he was aware of the sharp sting of failure. He'd been too late. The innocent young woman had agonizingly burned to death on her ceiling. And now, as the fire spread, Sam was trapped. The house would burn down and he would burn down with it._

Where's Dean?_ Sam couldn't help but wonder. Had his older brother even come in with him? If he had, what had happened to him?_

Sam coughed as he inhaled a lung full of thick smoke. But, he was dimly grateful for the smoke making it so hard to breathe. With every breath, the sickly-sweet smell of burning flesh invaded his senses. He didn't know how much more of it he could take. He closed his eyes and waited to die.

Suddenly, the heat and the flames ceased. Hazel eyes stared at the room in shock. No longer was he in the midst of a roaring fire. Now, he was looking at only the charred remains of the bedroom.

Although the fire was gone, he found he could still smell the same horridly sweet aroma he'd fought to avoid. His eyes quickly locked onto the source.

Before him was a young woman...or rather what used to be a young woman. Her skin was charred coal black and cracked in various places where congealing blood had seeped out. There was nothing left of her eyes but boiled whites reminding him of eggs in a pan. It was the most grotesque thing he'd ever seen and he made a conscious effort to keep his food down. Yet, he found he couldn't look away.

"Sam," she called, reaching out for him. He backed up as far as he could in terror.

"Sam!" she said more insistently and walked towards him. As she approached, the smell got stronger. Sam closed his eyes and turned his head away, waiting in terror for the moment her charred and broken flesh would touch his.

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Sam woke up with a gasp, covered in sweat. He looked up to see Dean sitting next to him.

"You okay, little brother?"

"Yeah," Sam said, "Yeah, I'm f-" Sam stopped suddenly, covering his mouth with his hands. He leapt out of bed, nearly tripping on the tangle of blankets, and ran into the bathroom where he tasted his dinner for the second time that night.

"Dude," Dean called, standing outside the bathroom door, "That's a damn expensive hamburger you're throwing up in there!"  
Sam came out of the bathroom, wiping his mouth with the heel of one hand and looking very sheepish.

"So," Dean said, "Nightmare or vision?"

"Nightmare," the younger brother answered promptly. Well...maybe not a normal nightmare...but it hadn't been a vision.

Dean nodded, "You know that there's nothing we could have done, right? That it's not your fault?"

Sam sighed. They had followed his vision to yet another small town...only to arrive and find out it had already happened.

"It's weird, though," he said, "The husband died in that fire too. Doesn't the demon usually only kill the mother and leave the rest of the family alive?"

"Come on, Sam," Dean said, "Does that bastard really need a reason to kill an innocent person?"

"I guess not," Sam said thoughtfully, "Still…it breaks the pattern…"

"Try not to let it bother you too much. And don't blame yourself."

Sam sighed and nodded, climbing back into bed. It still bugged him a little. His dream bugged him even more. _If these freakin' spirits are going to invade my dreams, can't they at least stop with this cryptic crap and just tell me what they want?_ Sam closed his eyes and let sleep take him once again.

Dean sat for a moment, just watching his little brother sleep. Then he went into the bathroom and splashed water on his face.

"I'm getting too old for this," he muttered, knowing he wouldn't be getting anymore sleep that night. He'd be too worried about Sam. Little brother was hiding something from him again, he could tell. He wouldn't try and force Sammy to talk; that never worked. But he _would_ keep an eye on his brother. He'd learned his lesson last time.

And, of course, thoughts of their last hunt led to thoughts of Leanne. She may have been dead long before he fell in love with her, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

"You know, Lea," he said, quietly so as not to disturb his brother, "That demon was right about a lot of things. About me feeling guilty, for example, and that I screwed up. But she said a lot of shit, too. Like when she said I fell in love with her. She was wrong. I fell in love with you." He found himself talking to Leanne an awful lot lately. He sighed, gently brushing Sam's sweaty hair from his brow.

"You need a haircut, Sammy-boy."

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**A/N: **Now, just to clear something up, Leanne's not actually going to be in this story. That little bit was just to tie it in with 'Below the Surface' (and because some of my friends were fans). Don't worry, I'm going to make sure the boys get more of the spot-light in this story. 

**Hmm...what do I like more than reviews? I can't think of anything so why don't you leave me some?**


	2. Unexpected Appearances

**Disclaimer: **Do I own? No. Do I want to? God yes!

**Warning:** Foul language and violence.

**A/N: **Thank you very much to those who reviewed! Always puts me in an updating mood (hint!hint).

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter Two: Unexpected Appearances**

"Remind me why we're here again?"

"Sam, if you want to do research, fine," Dean said, "But I am _not_ staying cooped up in a motel room while you do it."

Sam sighed, setting his laptop down on one of the bar's few tables, "You think this is a waste of time, don't you?"

"No, I think you may be overreacting a little bit," Dean said carefully, remembering that the last time he had dismissed Sam's suspicions about a case it had almost cost both of them their lives, "But if checking will make you feel better, be my guest."

Sam's expression softened. He knew that Dean still felt guilty, much as he tried to hide it. He silently cursed the demon for ruining everything good that had ever come into their lives. And he cursed himself. He cursed himself for being the burden that he was to his older brother, much as Dean denied it. After all, it _was_ Sam that the demon was after. Sam _was_ the _key_ to the demon's plans. He had to take on some of the blame. He repeated the vow he had made to himself, _No matter what, I won't let Dean get hurt because of me. This is my battle._

"So, what are you going to do while I'm knee deep in research?" he asked.

"I," Dean said, flashing his trademark grin, "Am going to do some research of my own."

"You're going to ask the barmaid for her phone number, aren't you?"

"Sammy," Dean said pretending to be shocked, "What a dirty little mind you have! Shame on you!"

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother's antics and turned his attention to his research.

Dean's grin widened and he headed up to the bar. The young woman serving drinks was indeed a sight. Her stylish bob hairdo with side-swept bangs was a gorgeous copper colour and her green eyes were nothing short of dazzling. _And, frankly,_ Dean thought, _She's stacked like a plate of Denny's pancakes._

Still, it hurt a little that flirting came so easily to him after losing Leanne. But, after all, he did have an image to maintain. Especially in front of Sam. He was the cocky older brother who had no weakness. And, besides, he really was doing research. If something else was going on, the locals may be able to provide a little gossip.

But that didn't stop the hurt or the guilt. He may flirt with plenty of girls, but he didn't think he'd feel the same way about any of them.

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Sam was completely absorbed in his research, so it was only natural to be startled when he heard the voice behind him.

"Well, if it isn't Sam Winchester! How the hell you been?"

Sam jumped a mile and then turned to see a very familiar face laughing at him.

"Sorry, man," the guy said, "I didn't mean to scare you!"

Sam grinned sheepishly, "You didn't scare me."

Sam got up out of his seat and hugged his old friend from college, "Hey, Danny."

"Dude, I haven't seen you since..." Danny trailed off, looking uncomfortable all of the sudden.

Sam shifted a little, "It's okay, Dan." Even with how long it had been since the fire, thinking of Jessica still hurt a little.

"I'm sorry, Sam. You know me. Can't keep my damn foot out of my mouth," he said, "So how've you been? Heard you dropped out to go road tripping."

"Yeah," Sam said, brightening a little, "Me and my brother, Dean, are traveling for a little while. Seeing the sights."

"Your brother?" Danny asked, sounding surprised, "You mean the one you told us about. The one that-"

"Shut up!" Sam said, going bright red, "He's only over there. And he has excellent hearing."

Danny chuckled, "As good as yours, eh Superman?"

"Better," Sam said seriously.

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"What can I get ya'?"

"Whatever's on tap," Dean told the barmaid. She nodded and went to serve him. When she came back, he introduced himself, "I'm Dean Johnson, by the way."

"Jennifer Thomas, single mother of two," when Dean raised an eyebrow, she continued, "We've got a lot of single creeps in this town. They hit on me and then run out of here as fast as they can when they find out I've got kids. I figure, why not save time and get it out in the open right away."

Dean nodded and flashed her his award-winning smile, "Sounds like real creeps. A pretty girl like you deserves better."

Jennifer blushed and smiled. What did she do to deserve such a nice (and gorgeous) guy flirting with her? When she figured it out she should write a book. She'd make millions.

"Sounded like there was a lot of commotion last night," Dean said casually, "A lot of sirens."

Her smile faltered slightly, "Yes. The Parsons always did keep up with the trends."

"Huh?"

"There was a fire last night," Jennifer explained, "Killed Rita and Martin Parsons. Normally it would come as a surprise, but, over the last few months, fires have been more the rule than the exception."

Now Dean was really interested. It annoyed him just a little that he'd have to admit that Sam was right, but at least he could take the credit for finding out information.

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Sam had momentarily forgotten about what he was originally here to do as he got completely immersed in catching up with his old friend. Only when he saw Dean listening intently to the something the barmaid was saying did he even think of it.

"Listen, Danny," Sam said, "It's been great but I really should-"

He broke off and put a hand to his head.

"Sam? Sam, you okay?"

Sam didn't even hear Danny. His head was pounding. He tipped forward as the world started to fade away and the vision took him. Vaguely he felt hands supporting him. Vaguely he heard someone yelling for help. But none of that mattered as watched a new scene play out before him.

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**A/N: **Ah, Dean! Always the flirt. Oh no! Bad place to have a vision, Sam! What will happen next? 

**The more reviews I get, the faster I'm tempted to update!**


	3. Only Fools Rush In

**Disclaimer: **I do not own them.

**Warning: **The usual.

**A/N:** I have decided to update again tonight because of those lovely people who've left me reviews! Speaking of reviews, I'd just like to say thank you to kim winchester who left me an anonymous review (and, again, thank you to those who left me signed reviews). Is this soon enough for you, my dear?

This is a short chapter, but, honestly, it has to end there. Creates suspense, you know? (evil grin)

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**Chapter Three: Only Fools Rush In**

Dean listened intently as Jennifer told him what she knew about the fires. They always happened in the same circumstances. The family always had a baby, less than a year old, the fire always happened at night, and the baby's mother always died. Other than that, each fire was completely different. In some, just the mother died. In others, other family members would die. Once, a whole family burned to death. And the weirdest thing was, nobody could figure out why they were happening.

"And I'm pretty on edge right now," Jennifer confided, "Because my youngest son is just under a year old."

"Why didn't you move when these fires started happening?" Dean asked.

"My younger brother has Down Syndrome," she explained with a soft smile, "And, if I don't take care of him, no one will. It would be cruel to move him away from the only home he's ever known. He's safe and happy here. I put his wellbeing over my silly fears. I'm just jumping at shadows, really."

Dean opened his mouth to reply, to tell her that her fears weren't silly. That they were all too real. That she should move her family to a safe place as soon as possible.

He opened his mouth to say these things, but he never got the chance.

"Hey! I need some help over here!"

Dean turned to see a perfect stranger supporting the limp form of his little brother.

"Sammy!"

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_The young woman sang softly for both the baby and herself. _

_"Wise men say...only fools rush in..." _

_The baby cooed happily, kicking his little legs and clutching at the air with his chubby fingers. The young woman smiled down at him, "But I...can't help...falling in love...with you..." _

_She stopped for a minute, "Now where did I put that blanket?" _

_She bent over the baby's crib; "I'll be right back, okay sweet pea?" _

_She left the room. As she did, the atmosphere changed. The room became sweltering hot. The little baby made small whimpering sounds. _

_The young woman came back in; "Boy is it ever warm in here. Guess I won't be needing this blanket after all." _

_She opened the nursery window a little and then kissed her baby boy goodnight, "See you in the morning, honey." _

_A few minutes later, a hand reached in and pushed the window all the way open._

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Dean gently set Sam down on the floor.

"Is he all right?" someone asked.

"Should I call an ambulance?" asked another.

"He's fine!" Dean muttered curtly. Although, judging from Sam's pained expression and the way his breaths were coming out in sharp gasps, he was anything but. _Wonderful timing, Little Brother._

"Dean, what's going on?" asked the man who had been holding Sam.

Dean ignored him, although he couldn't help but wonder how this jackass knew his name.

"Does this happen often?" the guy asked, undaunted by Dean's silence thus far.

"Yeah," Dean relented, annoyed. He wanted to give his little brother his undivided attention.

_Come on, Sam. Snap out of it!_

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_The young woman awoke upon hearing her baby boy's crying. Sighing, she headed to the nursery. She'd had many sleepless nights since his birth but she'd thought they were over that stage. He'd been sleeping well just lately. _

_"Hey, sweet pea," she said with a yawn as she opened the door. What she saw made her heart stop. Inside the room, his face shrouded in darkness, was a strange man. And he was holding her baby. _

_"Hey!" she yelled. _

_The man didn't turn, but, suddenly, the room became unnaturally hot. Too hot. It was becoming hard to breathe. The young woman screamed in pain. It felt like her blood was boiling inside of her veins. The fine hairs of her body became singed and then disappeared as they were burnt to nothing. Her baby and the stranger shimmered like a mirage in front of her. _

_Then, Jennifer Thomas, single mother of two, burst into flames._

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"Sammy?" Dean asked, feeling relieved when his brother opened his eyes.

"Dean," Sam gasped, "The barmaid. I saw her. She's going to die!"

Dean turned to look at the young man who had been cleaning the bar and had stopped to join the gathering of onlookers, "Where is she?"

"Who?" the man asked, confused.

"Jennifer," Dean said impatiently, "The barmaid."

"You just missed her," the guy told him, "Her shift just ended and she went home."

"_Shit!_"

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**A/N:** Uh oh! Hurry boys, hurry! 

**Reviews make me happy. When I'm happy, I update.**


	4. Up in Smoke

**Disclaimer: **No Sam and Dean for me...

**Warning: **Language and violence.

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**Chapter Four: Up in Smoke**

"Sam, are you well enough to walk?"

"Yeah," the younger Winchester replied. There was still a little residual headache, but some things were more important.

"Good, 'cause we gotta' move and I can't carry your giant ass," Dean said, helping his brother to his feet.

"What happened? Is he okay?" a rather plump young woman asked, not looking very concerned at all. More like she was just looking for the latest piece of gossip.

"He's fine," Dean told her, "Just piss drunk. Conked his head on a table."

Dean turned to leave but quickly realized that Sam wasn't following him. He turned to see that the guy who had been holding Sam before had pulled him aside. Anger invaded Dean's senses as he stalked over towards them, "Hey! Come on, Sam, move your ass. We gotta' go!"

"Listen, Sam," Danny said, making a point of ignoring Dean's outburst, "If you don't want to tell me what's going on, that's fine, but I want to hear it from _you_." He shot Dean a glaring look.

"It's fine, Dan," Sam said, trying to ease the growing tension. He knew that his brother was just itching to pop Danny one and only holding back because of the urgency of their current situation. But that wouldn't hold him for long. Danny had a mouth on him and often got into fights at college. Danny was a good fighter, but Sam thought that Dean would probably put him in the hospital if provoked.

"Just calm down. _Both of you_," Sam said, looking from one to the other, "Dean, chill. This is a friend of mine from college. His name is Daniel Burrows. Danny, everything's fine. I just was a little lightheaded for a second there. Dean's right, I probably had too much to drink. We're in a bit of a hurry right now." Sam flashed him the puppy dog eyes, asking Danny to just except his excuse and let him leave with Dean.

Danny hadn't seen Sam touch a drop of alcohol, but he let him go, still watching Dean with a wary eye.

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Sam was already heading up the driveway towards the house when he heard Dean call him.

"What? We don't have time for this, Dean!"

Dean just handed him a gun filled with rock salt, "Which is exactly why you shouldn't just run in there unprepared."

"Rock salt? Dean, we don't even know what we're dealing with!"

The older hunter stared at him, exasperated, "If it's a ghost, rock salt should make it go poof long enough for us to get that family out of there. If it's a demon, salt repels it. If it's just some crazy ass, psychopath _person_...it won't kill them but it'll hurt like hell. But you are _not_ going in there to face who-knows-what without some form of protection." Dean gave Sam his big-brother-knows-best look and then turned towards the house.

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"Hey!" Jennifer yelled.

The man didn't turn, but, suddenly, the room became unnaturally hot. Too hot. It was becoming hard to breathe. The young woman screamed in pain. It felt like her blood was boiling inside of her veins. The fine hairs of her body became singed and then disappeared as they were burnt to nothing. Her baby and the stranger shimmered like a mirage in front of her.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out from behind her. The man ducked, nearly dropping her baby. She would have screamed had she not been so close to passing out. She turned to see the man who had been flirting with her earlier and another, taller man entering the room, guns drawn.

_Shape of a man, can't see any physical features...sounds like the demon to me,_ Dean thought as he bent to help Jennifer to her feet, _That means the whole rock salt idea was useless. I'll never hear the end of this._ Suddenly Dean felt pain explode all through him as his blood began to boil. He let out a scream (very much against his will), alerting Sam to his situation.

Sam looked at Dean, seeing that he was clearly in pain. He expected to be hit with it too, but nothing happened. Then, a question invaded his head, as clearly as if he had thought it himself.

_Why doesn't it affect you?_

"Don't know," Sam told the thing that looked like a man, sure that that was where the question was coming from, "Just lucky I guess." Sam took steady, even strides towards the creature. From the way it was moving, it looked like it was beginning to panic. It put the baby in the cradle and then backed away, hands up.

_Take the woman. Take the child. Just let me go._

"I don't think so," Sam said but then heard an agonized yell from behind him. He turned to look at his older brother. Dean was trying to put up the old front, trying to tell him to take the bastard down and not worry about him, but Sam could see something different in his eyes. While Dean was telling Sam to go ahead, his eyes were saying "Help me Sam! It's killing me slow and I don't know how much more I can take".

Sam went with his instincts. Not his instincts as hunter (which were screaming at him to finish it), but his instincts as a human being. And a brother.

He threw his gun to the side and raised his own hands, "Go then."

In one fluid motion, the creature leapt out the window.

Sam and Dean locked eyes as the older brother gulped in mouthfuls of air. Dean felt grateful towards his younger brother, but angry as well. Now this thing was still out there and could hurt more people.

Sam looked in the crib to see the little baby goggling up at him with big, green eyes. He smiled down at him and impulsively tucked the toddler in. As he did, he saw something catch the moonlight on the floor. He bent down to pick it up. It was a key.

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**A/N: **Don't worry, this is about the extent of Jennifer's role in the story. I just needed her so that the boys could come face to featureless face with what they're dealing with. 

**If you've got a couple of minutes, why not leave me a review to tell me how I'm doing?**


	5. Finishing the Job

**Disclaimer and Warning:**See previous chapters (I'm too tired to post them again tonight).

**A/N: **Because I love my reviewers (you guys are awesome!), I'm going to be a good little author and post a second time today (a habit I seem to be picking up). Hopefully there will be no more huge gaps (what was it? Like five months?) in this story!

Oh, and major angst ahead (yay).

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**Chapter Five: Finishing the Job**

When they got back to the motel, Sam collapsed on his bed, exhaustion evident. He closed his eyes, only to open them when he heard his older brother clear his throat. Dean was standing over him and it was clear to Sam that he meant to have a good chat, whether the younger Winchester wanted to or not. Sam sighed and sat up. Dean was usually not one for serious conversations. If he wanted to talk...well, Sam was not going to like it, of that much he was sure.

Dean sat down on his own bed, still staring at Sam. Sam waited patiently for what seemed like forever but was probably only a few minutes. Still, Dean just stared. Sam stared back at him, feeling unease grow. So, maybe one of Dean's _talks_ was a little _unsettling_, but this silence was down right _scary_. Dean _never_ shut up.

"Well, you going to say something?" Sam asked, more nervous than annoyed.

"You should have finished it," Dean said so quietly that Sam almost didn't hear it.

"Finish it? Dean we don't even know how!" Sam nearly shouted, incredulous, "And it was going to kill you!"

"And now it's out there, free to kill more innocent people! How is that better, Sam?" Dean stood up as he yelled this, eyes flashing with anger, fists clenched.

Sam stood as well, towering over his older brother, "And you expected me to just let it kill you? To sacrifice you to finish the hunt?"

"If that's what it takes," Dean said, standing his ground.

"Well, I'm sorry, Dean, but I can't do that. You said it yourself enough times, family comes first."

Dean opened his mouth to retaliate...but closed it quickly as he saw the wet tracks streaking down his baby brother's face. Sam was crying. "Sammy..." was all he could manage.

"Dean, I'm not going to lose you over some hunt. I...I _can't_, Dean! I don't think I-" Sam was visibly shaking now as the tears continued to fall. Dean sighed, finally giving into the urge to comfort his little brother. Much as he hated these chick-flick moments, he was willing to go through them every once in a while. For Sammy.

Dean wrapped his arms around his younger brother, making him sit down on one of the beds so they could be the same height and it wouldn't be so awkward. Rubbing slow circles on Sammy's back, Dean whispered softly into his ear. It didn't matter what he was saying; it was his tone, one that was specially reserved for helping little Sammy calm down after a particularly bad nightmare. Or helping an adult Sam when he was upset.

Dean sighed quietly. The truth was, he'd been more than willing to sacrifice his life to kill this thing, but hadn't even thought of the effect his death would have on Sammy. So soon after losing their dad...when Sam had already lost their mom and Jesse...he, for the first time, wondered if Sammy could handle anymore. He'd always been ready to die in the line of duty, protecting either Sam or some Mary-Sue, but he'd never thought that by giving up his life he might actually destroy the one thing that had ever truly been worth protecting.

Still, to kill the demon...

He'd been feeling so guilty about their Dad dying to save him. If he could get the revenge John Winchester had dedicated his whole life to getting, maybe he wouldn't feel so lousy about it. Maybe he wouldn't feel like his father died for nothing. After all that Sam had said, the next words out of Dean's mouth were probably best left unspoken. They probably were, but Dean couldn't help himself. He just didn't know how to shut up.

"It was the demon though, Sam..."

The younger Winchester looked up at him, visibly calmer, "No, it wasn't."

"You saw it, Sammy. Shape of a man, can't see the details, kills people with fire...who does that sound like to you?"

"Dean, first of all, a lot of things could be in the shape of a man," Sam said, "And the reason you couldn't see it was because it made a point of staying the shadows. Second, none of those people were pinned to the ceiling or walls or anything. As most of the things about this case, it doesn't fit the demon's usual pattern. Third, its powers don't work on me. From the last run in we had with it, where it pinned me to a wall...well, I'd say that the _demon's_ powers _do_ affect me. Fourth, it talked to me. And, well...it wasn't the demon's voice."

"What do you mean 'it wasn't the demon's voice'?"

"I mean what I said," Sam told him, "It used my own voice to disguise itself. I heard myself talking inside my head...but it wasn't me."

"Who's to say the demon couldn't send your own voice back at you?"

"Yeah, but I don't think that it would. Its voice is, um..._effective_..." Sam didn't know how (nor wanted to) describe to Dean just how the demon had sounded when it had last talked to him inside his head.

Dean shuddered, remembering the night at the graveyard when the demon had spoken to them.

"And," Sam continued, "Fifth, this thing was scared off by the rock salt bullets. I don't think the demon would be. _And_ it jumped out the window. The demon can just disappear in a puff of smoke- literally -if it wants to."

"Okay," Dean conceded, "Anything you left out by any chance?"

"No, I think that's all of it," Sam said, deciding to keep the key he'd found to himself for the time being.

"Good," Dean said, stretching, "'Cause I'm beat." And, with that, he flopped down on his bed and nothing more was said that night.

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**A/N: **Naughty Sam! Keeping secrets! This can only mean trouble... 

**Give me reviews and I will luff you forever!**


	6. Bad News

**Disclaimer: **Unfortunately, I own neither Sam nor Dean...

**Warning: **About the same.

**A/N: **Sorry for the delay in updates. I meant to post this Friday, but by the time I got home, was down (I was so frustrated that I almost threw my keyboard at the computer like an angry German kid on YouTube - which wasn't working for me either - and screaming rather innapropriate things that shall not be repeated). Then, Saturday, I was out until late and didn't have a chance to update. So, finally on Sunday night, here it is! Enjoy!

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**Chapter Six: Bad News**

Sam woke abruptly to the sound of knocking on the motel door. He glanced over at Dean's bed to see it empty except for a single piece of motel stationary. Sam skimmed over what was written, not really giving it more than a cursory glance. He knew what it said; same message as always. Gone out for coffee, be back soon.

The knocking on the door continued. "Coming," Sam called.

He opened the door to see a very disheveled looking Danny. His long-ish (almost shoulder length) blonde hair was extremely messy, his t-shirt had some sort of stain on it and the jeans looked like they had seen better days. Oh, and his socks didn't match.

Danny was usually a relatively tidy person. He wasn't overly concerned about his appearance, but he always put some effort in. Looking the way he did was odd to say the least. The only other time that Sam had seen him even look close to this, he was half asleep, had a massive hangover, and was in a hurry because he'd already missed the first half of class.

But Sam's old college buddy didn't look half asleep or hung-over now. His brown eyes were very lucid and shining with that mischievous excitement that defined Daniel Burrows.

"Sam, turn the t.v. to the news!" Danny nearly shouted.

"Huh?" was the all that Sam could muster.

"The news, dip-shit!" Danny said, "Look, I know that I probably should have called instead of coming over like this, but...just do it, Sam!"

Sam was still a little groggy from sleep and it took a moment for Danny's words to penetrate the fog surrounding his brain. When they did, he slowly walked back over to the bed, picked the remote up off the nightstand, and turned the t.v. on. When he found the news channel, he snapped out of his sleepy state in a hurry.

"Ms. Thomas suffered a few minor burns that can not be explained. Both her children were unharmed," a young anchor said.

Then, the familiar face of Jennifer appeared on the screen. "There were these two guys," she said, "One of them I recognized from the bar earlier. They shot at the man who broke into my house and chased him away! I don't remember a lot of what happened, but those guys saved my life!"

Next, police sketches of Sam and Dean were shown. Sam groaned. The pictures weren't great, but they were passable.

"Yeah," Danny said quietly, "Didn't think you'd be too happy about that. Even with Jesse, you were a pretty private guy. They've been playing this story all morning and talking about the two guys who saved a woman and then fled the scene. The police want to bring them in for questioning," he gave Sam a pointed look, "You know, when we gave you the nickname 'Superman', we were only joking. We didn't really expect you to go out and fight crime."

Sam nodded, feeling numb. Well, if this wasn't just _perfect_! Why couldn't they ever catch a break?

Just then, the motel door opened and Dean walked in, locking the door behind him, "Sam, we gotta' go! That, lady, Jennifer, she-"

"I know, Dean."

"You do? How d-" Dean glanced over at Danny, giving him a brief glare and muttering a surprised "Oh".

"Two more fires occurred last night-"

All three men turned their attention to the television.

"Kara Brookes and her six month old daughter burned to death in their own home as did Alicia and Benjamin Roswell and their two sons..."

Sam felt frustrated tears prick his eyes. Despite all their efforts, despite Dean almost _dying_, whatever they were now hunting had murdered again.

"Sam..." Dean said softly, bringing his attention back to the t.v.

The screen now showed an aerial view of a backyard outside one of the houses. Burned into the otherwise green grass was a clearly printed sentence.

"Payback's a bitch," Danny read quietly.

Dean seemed to come back to himself; "We have to go, Sam. We have to leave town."

"What? Why?"

"You saw the police sketches! Someone's bound to search for information on the two of us and they'll find our files! Now, the last psycho-cop to arrest me may now be dead and may have screwed the case to hell, but I'm betting they'll still come after us and I'm not particularly eager to repeat the experience."

"Dean," Sam said, "If we leave now, more women could die."

"And if we don't," Dean said, "More women could still die _and_ we could go to jail."

"But we can't just run away, Dean!" Sam yelled, "We have to try!"

"You think I'm happy about ditching this job, Sam?" Dean demanded, "Well, I'm not! I just don't see any other choice!"

"You could go," Sam said quietly.

"What?"

"You could leave town and I could stay and finish the job," Sam said, "The police couldn't hold me and I'm less vulnerable to this thing anyway."

Dean shook his head, "Not an option."

"Why?"

"It's too much of a risk, Sammy. I'm not letting you do this alone."

"Well then, what _are_ we going to do? I'm not leaving, Dean."

Dean's expression softened ever so slightly, "We'll lay low for a while, until we finish this."

Sam looked at his older brother, hope in his eyes. Dean just nodded in acknowledgement. The younger Winchester felt a wave of love for Dean.

"Hello? Anybody going to tell me what the hell is going on?" Danny cried, clearly annoyed at having been shut out.

Dean shot him an angry look as if to ask why he was still here. Sam opened his mouth to speak. Just as he was wondering what possible excuse was going to come out of his mouth, an unbearable pain shot through his head, causing him to cry out.

"Sammy!" Dean shouted.

* * *

**A/N: **Ah no! Another vision in front of Danny? The boys are going to need to do a little explaining... 

**You must feed the review monster (a.ka. moi)!**


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